Agenda and minutes

To receive apologies for absence from those Members who are unable to attend the meeting.

There were no apologies received.

The Councillors will be asked to say if there are any items on the Agenda in which they have disclosable pecuniary interests, which would prevent them from participating in any discussion of the items or participating in any vote upon the items, or any other interests.

No interests were declared.

To approve the Minutes of the meeting of the Panel held on 24^th  August 2021.

The Panel considered the minutes of the previous meeting held on 24 August 2021.

The Panel noted that in relation to the A62 to Cooper Bridge Corridor Improvement Scheme that there needed to be a specific time scale (i.e.- years, months) for developments included in the Minutes.

The Minutes of the meeting held on 24 August 2021 were agreed as a correct record subject to the inclusion of the aforementioned information.

Most debates take place in public. This only changes when there is a need to consider certain issues, for instance, commercially sensitive information or details concerning an individual. You will be told at this point whether there are any items on the Agenda which are to be discussed in private.

Items 1 to 9 were considered in the public session. It was advised that Item 10, Waste Disposal Commercial Offer was to be considered in private by virtue of the reports containing information which falls within a category of exempt information as contained in Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended by the Local Government (Access to Information) (Variation Order 2006).

The Panel will receive any petitions and hear any deputations from members of the public. A deputation is where up to five people can attend the meeting and make a presentation on some particular issue of concern. A member of the public can also hand in a petition at the meeting but that petition should relate to something on which the body has powers and responsibilities.

In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 10 (2), Members of the Public should provide at least 24 hours’ notice of presenting a deputation. To register a deputation please email executive.governance@kirklees.gov.uk .

No deputation or petitions were received.

The Board will hear any questions from the general public.

To register to participate under the item please email executive.governance@kirklees.gov.uk  no later than 10am on Monday 6^th September 2021.

No questions were received from the public.

The Panel will consider a report on the progress of the Cultural Heart programme following Cabinet approval to proceed on the 22^nd June 2021.

Contact:

David Glover , Senior Responsible Officer, Cultural Heart

The Panel considered a report setting out the progress of the Cultural Heart programme which was presented by David Glover, Senior Responsible Officer-Economy and Skills and David Shepherd, Strategic Director, Growth and Regeneration.

Cllr Peter McBride - Portfolio Holder for Regeneration and Cllr Paul Davies - Cabinet Member for Corporate were also in attendance. Cllr McBride gave an overview of the Cultural Heart explaining that it was an ambitious programme which aimed to transform the town centre of Huddersfield. Due to the complexity, of the developments the Council had employed consultants to provide guidance on various aspects of the plan, such as costing and staging, for example. Cllr Davies explained that reflecting local culture was a priority of the scheme, and engagement with local people was essential to create a town centre which celebrated what Kirklees had to offer, built local esteem, and established Kirklees as a place nationally. The plans also included a focus on sustainability and the creation of a greener town centre.

David Shepherd advised that the Cabinet had identified accelerated delivery of the Cultural Heart as a priority. To achieve this, a ‘Gateway System’ had been designed to ensure that Cabinet continued to lead the process at each critical stage of its delivery. Using this approach, the scheme could not progress through the identified ‘Gateways’ without Cabinet approval.

David Glover gave a presentation which set out an overview of the Huddersfield Blueprint and the Cultural Heart and the progress to date. It was noted that:

·       The Huddersfield Blueprint was a £250m programme launched in 2019 and included 24 core regeneration projects.

·       The Cultural Heart programme was one of 4 flagship projects within the Blueprint

·       The purpose of the Cultural Heart programme was to reset Huddersfield Town Centre through the introduction of a new event space and food court, a high-quality urban park, a modified or new library, an art gallery and museum, improved connections to the university and new car parking facilities.

·       Cabinet approved for the for the scheme to progress to Gateway 2 on the 22^nd June 2021.

·       The approved report set out the strategy for developing the Strategic Outline Case (Gateway 1), a robust master plan and the Outline Business Case (Gateway 2).

·       November 2021 was the target for Gateway 1. To meet this, work was ongoing such as stakeholder consultations, procurement of Architects and Engineers, heritage impact assessments and initial planning consultations.

·       July 2022 was the target for Gateway 2 and the total estimated timescale for completion of the programme was from 2021 to 2026.

·       The programme had an estimated total value of between £170m and £200m.

·       A sustainability review had commenced to ensure the development of the Cultural Heart was in line with new and existing Council policies.

·       This included plans to connect the Cultural Heart with the proposed town centre heat network and electricity project to reduce the town centres carbon footprint.

·       Social value was also important and increased social opportunities would become deliverable as the project moved into the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

The Panel will consider a report about Winter Maintenance Services, including the link to Planning.

Contacts:

Mark Scarr, Head of Highways
Chris Johnson, Operational Manager, Highways Service
Kathryn Broadbent, Operational Manager, Highways Service

The Panel considered the update on Review of Winter Maintenance Services and the Link to Planningpresented by Mark Scarr- Head of Highways, Sue Proctor -Service Director, Highways and Street Scene, Environment and Climate Change, Kathryn Broadbent – Operational Manager, Street Scene and Housing. Chris Dows – Group Engineer, was also in attendance in relation to the link to planning and Cllr Paul Davies - Cabinet Member for Corporate were also in attendance.

Kathryn Broadbent gave a presentation to provide the Panel with an update on the provision of winter maintenance services and information on the link with planning and highlighted the following key points:

·       In 2021/22, the winter services were planned to operate for 27 weeks (extended from 24 weeks) from 18th October 2021 to mid-April 2022.

·       There were 25,000 tonnes of salt in stock (more than the minimum requirement) and the service looked after over 1,200 miles of road network.

·       The Audit Commission recommended that Councils should grit between 24% and 38% of their road networks.

·       Kirklees treated about 53% of its road network, exceeding the national average (30%) and the Audit Commission’s recommendations in order to reflect the districts challenging typography.

·       The normal gritting network consisted of main roads, main bus routes and steep routes that provided important links to main roads. The service was not responsible for private streets.

·       Gritting action was informed by a specialist forecast and the predictions of 4 weather stations placed in various locations across Kirklees.

·       Gritting took place on a forecast for freezing temperatures as road salt worked best when applied in advance of any snow fall or ice formation.

·       On marginal nights there were night patrols that checked the conditions (reporting back to the senior decision makers) and undertook localised gritting.

·       Usually gritting took place at 5am and 6pm, before and after rush hour.

·       In response to severe weather, operation switched from normal actives to concentrating ploughing efforts on main road and supporting emergency services.

·       As severe weather settles, work would be undertaken alongside operational teams within the council, (i.e.- street sweeping and bins) to focus on getting back to business as normal.

·       The recovery would focus on clearing key locations and prioritising access to hospitals, health centres and schools.

·       A key priority was keeping people informed about winter weather and to encourage early preparation.

·       The Twitter account, @kirkleeswinter, for example, was a well-known method of communication with the public, where regular updates were posted about the decisions taken, and gritting/night patrol activities.

·       The Council supported community gritting groups who helped vulnerable people by clearing roads and pavements locally to premises where elderly/disabled residents live and receive services.

·       There was an engagement session planned with the 24 local community gritting teams to identify how the support and information provided to them may be improved and to increase the number of groups in Kirklees.

·       The Council provided grit piles to farmers helped to clear lanes which were not on priority gritting routes supporting small communities and rural Businesses.

·       There  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

The Panel will consider its work programme and forthcoming items/activities for 2021/22.

Contact:

Jodie Harris, Principal Governance and Democratic Engagement Officer

The Panel considered its work programme for 2021/22

RESOLVED: The Panel noted the work programme.

The Panel will consider a report on the commercial offer to secure a 2 year extension to the waste disposal contract.

Contact:

Nigel Hancock , Programme Manager

Lory Hunter, Commercial and Technical Development Manager

The Panel noted that Item 12 - Waste Disposal Interim Arrangementswas to be considered in private session as per the reasons set out under Item 11.

To resolve that under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting during the consideration of the following item of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Part 1 of the Schedule 12A of the Act.

The Panel noted that under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following item of business, on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information, as defined in Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act.

Councillor Bolt declined to agree and existed the meeting. The Panel agreed to consider the report in private.

This report contains confidential information and is recommended to be taken in Private because the information contained is considered to be exempt information under Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, as amended by the Local Government (Access to Information) (Variation) Order 2006.

It is considered that it would not be in the public interest to disclose the information contained in the report as disclosure could adversely affect overall ability to obtain value for money, compromise the commercial confidentiality and intellectual property of organisations mentioned in the report, may disclose contractual terms, and impact on any future legal action that may be required, which is considered to outweigh the public interest in disclosing information including, greater accountability, transparency in spending public money, and openness in Council decision-making.

(the Panel will consider a private report in relation to agenda item 10).

Contact:

Nigel Hancock , Programme Manager

Lory Hunter, Commercial and Technical Development Manager

The Panel considered the report Waste Disposal Interim Arrangements in private session as per the above reasons.